Pinckney 'STEMs' the tide of unhealthy habits

C.C. Pinckney Elementary School students learn how physical activity can reinforce their learning of health in ways older generations could only dream of.

"I remember when I was growing up I formed some really bad eating habits because I believed in the American way of 'as long as I'm exercising enough I won't get fat and I can eat anything I want,'" said Darren Seamster, a physical education teacher. "That type of mentality has been formed in a lot of people. If you want to be the best performer you want to be you have to put the proper fuel in your body."

C.C. Pinckney Elementary School's STEM in the Gym event held Feb. 9 brought together students and volunteers from around post to help educate the children on how to be healthier.

"You pretty much use science, technology, engineering and math in everyday life," said Dan Ferreira, physical therapist with C.C. Pinckney Elementary, about the STEM in the Gym event.

Students attending the STEM at the Gym were able to test themselves through physical activities while also learning from a myriad of experts including how to properly brush their teeth from active-duty Army dentists.

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Daniel Bleifeld, a parent of a C.C. Pinckney student, said, "I think it's a great event for the kids to see what's out there. You know you've got various physical activities they can do and it equates to everyday life. They are having fun while learning. That is the biggest positive of this event."

When Ferreira was growing up he learned about being healthy in school but not the way Pinckney students are being taught.

"It wouldn't have been called STEM," he said. "That's a fairly new term. I think it would have been easier" to understand wellness better when I was child if we didn't demark fitness as "either physical activity or wellness or education. There shouldn't be that demarcation -- that's a false reality."

At Pinckney students are taught the basics of STEM in their everyday classes while various events are held throughout the school year that reinforces how physical activity is translated into a healthier lifestyle.

"This is kind of one way of showing what they learned in their classes," Ferreira said. "Everything they are exposed to today they have been exposed to -- this is just reinforcing it. What you see as you go around there is not any element of health or wellness that doesn't involve some sort of science or technology."

Seamster agreed STEM is an important aspect in a student's growth especially in the fitness realm.

"It's extremely vital" to teach STEM to our students, he said. Children "benefit because we are first of all tying principles of STEM in to their health and fitness."

Many of the adults at the event wished, like Seamster, wished they could have learned STEM principles while they were in school.

"I grew up as an Army brat and we didn't have anything like this," said Bleifeld, an instructor for the Adjutant General School's Warrant Officer Basic Course.

"The first I got to do this was when I did PT with my dad."